Case Number 17736

LOVEJOY: THE COMPLETE SEASON SIX

The Charge

"I'll give you an answer when I'm sure you mean the question." --
Charlotte Cavendish, giving a non-answer to Lovejoy's marriage proposal

Opening Statement

It looks like Lovejoy and Charlotte will find happiness together toward the
season's end, but viewers never got to see it: Season Six was the swan song for
this show about the East Anglia antiques dealer who too often finds himself
"helping police with their inquiries." Based on the novels by Jonathan
Gash, Lovejoy had a run of seventy-five episodes, a rare feat in British
television. Thus, it's worth a look at Lovejoy: The Complete Season
Six.

Facts of the Case

Lovejoy: The Complete Season Six has ten episodes on three discs:

Disc One * "Fair Exchange" Lovejoy's in the
frame for the theft of a painting from Charlotte (Caroline Langrishe,
Pulaski). His rival for her affections wants her to believe the divvy
guilty. Fortunately, Beth (Diane Parish, EastEnders) is leading the
investigation.

* "Day of Reckoning" Lovejoy never liked games as much as
Max Hunter, an antiques dealer who murdered his wife, believing she slept with
Lovejoy. However, Max has kidnapped Charlotte, making this chess match a game of
life and death.

* "Somewhere -- Over the Rainbow?" Lovejoy is tracking down
a missing Tinker, who was awfully distracted before he took off. It has
something to do with an old postcard.

Disc Two * "Guns and Roses": Lovejoy's antique gun is
found at the scene of a robbery. The gun was in the shop, which could create a
problem for Lovejoy's gunsmith friend.

* "The Last of the Uzkoks" Charlotte hires Lovejoy to value
part of a communion set; she minds when he takes on a few extra clients for the
same task. Meanwhile, Charlie Gimbert's father turns up.

* "Breaking the Broker" A too-enthusiastic copper pinches
Tinker for possessing obscene figurines, setting in motion a chain of events
which finds Lovejoy and friends stinging a shady pawnbroker.

* "Fruit of the Desert" A diplomat wants $100,000 cash for
some antiques that he admits should have gone to the Foreign Office. Lovejoy
could make a quick profit, but he sees the chance for a big score.

Disc Three * "Holding the Baby" Lovejoy outwits
a house clearance client and a rival dealer to get a bargain on a side cabinet,
but there's payback in the air. Meanwhile, Charlotte's maternal instincts come
out when she babysits her godson.

* "Last Tango in Lavenham" As the impending sale of Felsham
Hall threatens to put Lovejoy out in the cold, Sam Cavendish and Tinker Dill
urge him to marry Charlotte. There really is a last tango, since Lovejoy and
Jane Felsham (Phyllis Logan, The McGuffin) meet up again at a dance.

The Evidence

I'll have to admit that I didn't care for "Last Tango in Lavenham,"
the episode that finishes the long-running series. It's not just because, after
listening to Lovejoy and Charlotte argue so much throughout the season, it's
hard to believe that he would propose, or that she would accept. It's more the
abruptness of the ending, which even has Lovejoy standing in front of Felsham
Hall, simply telling us how the story ends. When I first saw it, I thought it
must have been a cliffhanger to be resolved in a season that never happened. It
could also be that the writers were trying to fudge, since Lovejoy has
risen from the TV graveyard before (Series One was in 1986; Series Two didn't
arrive until 1991).

Season Six starts out strongly, though, with Beth, Lovejoy's new assistant,
taking the lead in clearing Lovejoy's name after he's framed for a robbery.
While she's normally honest and even blunt, she's willing to lie to give her
boss an alibi. When that fails, she heads out on her own to investigate, and
even takes charge of Lovejoy and Tinker. It's interesting that Charlotte
Cavendish, unlike Lady Jane Felsham, Lovejoy's previous
partner-in-borderline-crime, immediately suspects him of stealing a painting he
coveted from her home and hitting her with a door. Even Dennis, the requisite
skeptical copper, has more faith in the shady antique dealer's character than
that.

Throughout the series, Charlotte's emotions toward Lovejoy run a wild range,
from explosive to tender, and she's always ready to trade notes with other
women, particularly Lovejoy's past romantic interests (including Phyllis Logan's
Janie), on his shortcomings. It's often funny, but it does wear thin, despite
Caroline Langrishe's expert balancing act in keeping Charlotte believable and
likable. Of course, Ian McShane's Lovejoy isn't all innocent. He's greedy --
even risking his daughter's flat on a big score at one point -- and often
ill-tempered when things go wrong. In typical TV detective show fashion, though,
his antics are tempered by his loyalty and determination; when Sam Cavendish,
Charlotte's father, is attacked by robbers at an archaeological dig, he's the
one who tracks down the culprits.

For the most part, Season Six juggles humor and mystery well. "Day of
Reckoning," which puts Lovejoy in a classic race against time, is
especially compelling on the mystery front, and "Somewhere -- Over the
Rainbow?," "Double Edged Sword," and "Breaking the
Broker" provide strong character moments. The last three episodes are
weaker as the series turns to giving Lovejoy and Charlotte internal revelations
designed to push them toward matrimony. As usual, the endings are a bit
miraculous, with the discovery of a rare antique or some other deus ex machina
at precisely the right moment.

The transfer is decent; there are no glaring flaws that drew my
attention.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

In his extra, "Ian McShane Talks About Lovejoy, Part Six," the
actor talks about starting work on Deadwood and the possibility that it
could last six seasons as well. I'd have probably clipped that part from the
interview, since it didn't quite pan out.

Closing Statement

If you're not already a Lovejoy fan, Lovejoy: The Complete Season
Six is hardly the place to start. The show's winding down toward a finale
that's not all that good. I'd suggest going back to Series One if you're a
purist, or Series Two if you want to see Lovejoy as it found its natural
rhythm. If you've seen the first five seasons, though, it should be worth
watching how it turned out.

The Verdict

The ending's a bit of a letdown, but Lovejoy manages to wriggle off the hook
one last time. Not quite guilty.